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Greenford () is a suburb in the London Borough of Ealing in west London, England, lying west from
Charing Cross Charing Cross ( ) is a junction in Westminster, London, England, where six routes meet. Clockwise from north these are: the east side of Trafalgar Square leading to St Martin's Place and then Charing Cross Road; the Strand leading to the City; ...
. It has a population of 46,787 inhabitants, or 62,126 with the inclusion of Perivale. Greenford is served by Greenford Station ( London Underground Central Line and
Greenford branch The Greenford branch line is a Network Rail suburban railway line in west London, England. It runs northerly from a triangular junction with the Great Western Main Line west of West Ealing to a central bay platform at Greenford station, where i ...
of the Great Western Railway mainline service). South Greenford mainline station (on the A40 Western Avenue, also on the Greenford branch of the GWR) is actually in Perivale. Neither station is in Greenford Town Centre (Greenford Broadway), which instead is served by many local buses. Nearby places include Yeading, Hanwell, Perivale, Southall, Northolt,
Ealing Ealing () is a district in West London, England, west of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Ealing. Ealing is the administrative centre of the borough and is identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan. Ealing was histor ...
,
Sudbury Sudbury may refer to: Places Australia * Sudbury Reef, Queensland Canada * Greater Sudbury, Ontario (official name; the city continues to be known simply as Sudbury for most purposes) ** Sudbury (electoral district), one of the city's federal e ...
and
Sudbury Hill Sudbury Hill is an area of the London Borough of Harrow in northwest London, England. It forms part of the HA1 postcode and Harrow post town. Located immediately north of North Greenford and almost a mile from its namesake Sudbury, Sudbury H ...
. The most prominent landmark in the suburb is
Horsenden Hill Horsenden Hill (; ) is a hill and open space, located between the Perivale, Sudbury, and Greenford areas of West London. It is in the London Borough of Ealing, close to the boundary with the London Borough of Brent. It is one of the higher emin ...
, above sea level. Greenford covers a large area, including the two miles of Greenford Road, giving it three localities: North Greenford, Greenford Green, and Greenford Broadway – this is also reflected in the names of the
electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected to t ...
s. Though a separate "town" within the borough of
Ealing Ealing () is a district in West London, England, west of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Ealing. Ealing is the administrative centre of the borough and is identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan. Ealing was histor ...
, the Royal Mail includes Perivale within the Greenford post area and as such the two share the UB6 postcode.


Toponymy

The name is first recorded in 848 as ''Grenan forda''. It is formed from the
Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...
'grēne' and ' ford' and means 'place at the green ford'. Greenford was known as Great Greenford in order to distinguish it from Little Greenford, which is now known as Perivale (Greenford and Perivale, though different places, still share the UB6 postal code). The affixes 'Magna' and 'Parva' have also been used to denote the difference.


History

Greenford was an ancient parish in the historic Elthorne Hundred, county of Middlesex.


Industrial

Greenford is considered to be birthplace of the modern organic chemical industry, as it was at
William Perkin Sir William Henry Perkin (12 March 1838 – 14 July 1907) was a British chemist and entrepreneur best known for his serendipitous discovery of the first commercial synthetic organic dye, mauveine, made from aniline. Though he failed in trying t ...
's chemical factory in North Greenford, by the Grand Union Canal, that the world's first aniline dye was discovered in March 1856. Perkin called his amazing discovery '
mauveine Mauveine, also known as aniline purple and Perkin's mauve, was one of the first synthetic dyes. It was discovered serendipitously by William Henry Perkin in 1856 while he was attempting to synthesise the phytochemical quinine for the treatment of m ...
'. Today there is a
blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving as a historical marker. The term i ...
marking the spot in Oldfield Lane North, just south of the Black Horse public house. Local anecdote says that Queen Elizabeth I would only eat bread made from wheat grown in Greenford, and until 2013/14 Greenford was the home to the Hovis factory. The former Rockware glassworks on the canal is commemorated by Rockware Avenue. Greenford formed part of Greenford Urban District from 1894 to 1926 and was then absorbed by the Municipal Borough of Ealing.


J. Lyons and Co.

Post First World War, tea blender and food manufacturer
J. Lyons and Co. J. Lyons & Co. was a British restaurant Chain store, chain, food manufacturing, and hotel conglomerate founded in 1884 by Joseph Lyons (caterer), Joseph Lyons and his brothers in law, Isidore Gluckstein, Isidore and Montague Gluckstein. Lyons’ ...
were looking for a secondary site on which to expand production beyond
Cadby Hall Cadby Hall was a major office and factory complex in Hammersmith, London which was the headquarters of catering company Joseph Lyons and Co. for almost a century. Origins The name originated from Charles Cadby, piano manufacturer, who purchased ...
,
Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. ...
. In 1921 they bought the first piece of an eventual site, due to its location close to good transport links from both the Grand Union Canal and the
Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...
's
Great Western Main Line The Great Western Main Line (GWML) is a main line railway in England that runs westwards from London Paddington to . It connects to other main lines such as those from Reading to Penzance and Swindon to Swansea. Opened in 1841, it was the or ...
, and the West Coast Main Line and onwards to the Midlands at
Willesden Junction Willesden Junction is a railway station in Harlesden, north-west London, UK. It is served by both London Overground and London Underground services. History The station developed on three contiguous sites: the West Coast Main Line (WCML) st ...
. The factory officially opened in July 1921, with the first single-storey buildings known as "Zig-Zag" due to their northern light-aligned windows allowing maximum light into the production area. There were steam and electrical power plants on site, which powered both the plant as well as the staff canteen and medical facilities, accessible to all plant employees and their dependents. Transport docks and a canal basin had been developed, allowing shipment of tea and coffee directly from London Docks into HM Customs excise controlled bonded warehouses. The extensive onsite railway infrastructure allowed precise positioning of heavy raw goods into the factory, as well as the extraction of finished product. Lyons bought their own steam shunters to move wagons between the GWR exchange sidings and the factory system. Lyons quickly became Greenford's biggest employer. A later pioneer in electronic machines and computing, Lyons deployed the latest factory automation technology, making Greenford a showplace that was regularly visited by the media, academics, competitors and royalty, with more than one visit by King George V and Queen Mary. In the 1950s, the site developed the breakfast cereal Ready Brek. Areas of the site not initially developed for factory use were landscaped, with many trees planted. As the factory developed these diminished, particularly after the development of the Lyons Maid
Bridge Park factory J. Lyons and Co., Greenford was a major food production factory located in Greenford, west London. Developed post World War I by J. Lyons and Co., it covered at its height, and produced tea, coffee, grocery products and Lyons Maid ice cream. Read ...
in the 1950s, and the new administration block in 1971. After the merger of Lyons with
Allied Bakeries An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
in the 1980s, and the focus of the new
Allied Domecq Allied Domecq PLC was an international company, headquartered in Bristol, United Kingdom, that operated spirits, wine, and quick service restaurant businesses. It was once a FTSE 100 Index constituent but has been acquired by Pernod Ricard. They ...
business to focus on spirits, with the sell-off of the businesses associated with the factory, the need for the facility dwindled. Redeveloped from 1998, today it is known as
Lyon Way Industrial Estate Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of ...
.


Art and culture

Five hundred yards north east from William Perkin's dye factory was a triangular field in which he kept horses. On this ground was built the Oldfield Tavern public house, which became a popular venue for a
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
group called the Detours, who met a drummer there called
Keith Moon Keith John Moon (23 August 19467 September 1978) was an English drummer for the rock band the Who. He was noted for his unique style of playing and his eccentric, often self-destructive behaviour and addiction to drugs and alcohol. Moon grew ...
. On Thursday 20 February 1964 they were introduced to the audience of the Oldfield Tavern as the Who. (The tavern has not survived, however, and has since been replaced by a small block of flats and a Texaco petrol station). Andy Locke, Dave Kerr-Clemenson and Wal Scott were all in Edison Lighthouse, and with chart-topping Love Grows all came from Greenford.


Expansion


Education


Primary and Junior Schools

* Coston Primary School * Horsenden Primary School * Oldfield Primary School * Our Lady of the Visitation Catholic Primary School * Ravenor Primary School * Selborne Primary School * Stanhope Primary School * The Edward Betham CofE Primary School * Vicar's Green Primary School


High schools

*
Greenford High School Greenford High School (abbreviated as GHS) is a mixed 11-19 secondary school with a comprehensive intake located in the London Borough of Ealing. History When it was built, in 1939, the then Greenford County School was a grammar school for boy ...
(an amalgamation of Stanhope Secondary boys school, Costons Girls School and Greenford Grammar school) * The Cardinal Wiseman Catholic School *
William Perkin Church of England High School William Perkin Church of England High School is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form located in the Greenford area of London, England. History The school was established in 2013. It is a free school sponsored by the Twyford Chu ...
(an
Academy High School Academy High School is a 3A public high school located in Little River, Texas, United States. It is part of the Academy Independent School District located in southern Bell County. In 2009, the school was rated " Recognized" by the Texas Educat ...


Transport

The A40, a major dual-carriageway, serves the area.


Tube

North Greenford is served by Sudbury Hill station on the
Piccadilly line The Piccadilly line is a deep-level London Underground line running from the north to the west of London. It has two branches, which split at Acton Town, and serves 53 stations. The line serves Heathrow Airport, and some of its stations are n ...
and Greenford on the Central line.


Rail

Greenford and South Greenford stations are served by
Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...
services on the Greenford branch line to West Ealing.


Buses

Greenford has the following bus routes travelling through it: 92, 95,
105 105 may refer to: *105 (number), the number *AD 105, a year in the 2nd century AD *105 BC, a year in the 2nd century BC * 105 (telephone number) * 105 (MBTA bus) * 105 (Northumberland) Construction Regiment, Royal Engineers, an English military unit ...
,
282 Year 282 (Roman numerals, CCLXXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Probus and Victorinus (or, less frequently, year 1 ...
,
395 __NOTOC__ Year 395 ( CCCXCV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Olybrius and Probinus (or, less frequently, year 1148 ...
,
487 Year 487 ( CDLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Boethius without colleague (or, less frequently, year 1240 ''A ...
, E1, E2, E3, E5, E6, E7, E9, E10, E11, H17 and N7.


Geography

The town lies between about and
above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''. The comb ...
.


Parks and recreation

The grounds of the former Ravenor Farm has become Greenford's largest park; Ravenor Park is the venue for the annual Greenford Carnival, which is held every July. Until 1910, the land that formed Ravenor Farm/Ravenor Park was a detached part of Northolt parish, with the tithes to the land going to St. Mary's Church, Northolt and not the Greenford parish of Holy Cross, Greenford. There are also
Perivale Wood Perivale Wood is an 11.6 hectare Local Nature Reserve (LNR) and Site of Metropolitan Importance for Nature Conservation in Perivale in the London Borough of Ealing. It is one of the oldest nature reserves in Britain. The Selborne Society has manag ...
, the
Horsenden Hill Horsenden Hill (; ) is a hill and open space, located between the Perivale, Sudbury, and Greenford areas of West London. It is in the London Borough of Ealing, close to the boundary with the London Borough of Brent. It is one of the higher emin ...
, and
Northala Fields Northala Fields is a park located in Northolt, in the London Borough of Ealing. It was opened in 2008 and consists of four artificial hills standing next to the A40 Western Avenue, as well as several fishing lakes, a large field area a children' ...
near Northolt.


Neighbouring areas


Demography

Greenford is covered by three
electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected to t ...
s of the London Borough of Ealing, together counting a population of 46,787 as of the 2011 UK census. The median house price as of 2014 was £249,000 in Greenford Broadway, £307,000 in Greenford Green, and £345,000 in North Greenford. In Greenford Green and North Greenford, over 60% of houses are owned, whereas in Greenford Broadway a majority are rented. The population are from a diverse set of backgrounds including Polish, English and other BAME backgrounds (i.e. Black, Asian and minority Ethnic). The median age of those from Black, Asian and minority Ehnic backgrounds was 33, 34 and 34 years respectively.


Sport and leisure

Greenford has two
Non-League football Non-League football describes football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is specifically used to de ...
teams
London Tigers F.C. London Tigers Football Club is a football club based in Greenford, in the London Borough of Ealing, England. Formed in 2006 as a merger of Kingsbury Town and London Tigers, they are currently members of the and play at Spratleys Meadow in Am ...
who play at the Avenue Park Stadium and
North Greenford United F.C. North Greenford United Football Club is a football club based in Greenford in the London Borough of Ealing, England. They play in the . The club is affiliated to the Middlesex County Football Association. History Established in 1944, original ...
who play at Berkeley Fields. The
Greenford Park Trotting Track Greenford Park Trotting Track was a trotting track, motorcycle speedway and short-lived greyhound racing track in Greenford, London Borough of Ealing, West London. Trotting track The site of the trotting track was on modern day Jeymer Drive, ...
was a pioneer speedway venue and open meetings were staged 1928–1930. The track would be called a long track now, as it was of the order of half a mile/800 metres per lap. The trotting track was situated on the south side of Birkbeck Avenue, just north of the A40 Western Avenue.


Places of interest

Greenford Heritage Centre: a cornucopia of British-made domestic paraphernalia of 20th century is on display – a variety of household items that were commonly found in British homes and gardens in the past.
London Motorcycle Museum London Motorcycle Museum displayed a range of over 150 classic and British motorcycles. It closed in October 2019, partly due to inability to meet the running costs. A charitable trust, it opened in May 1999 at Oldfield Lane South, Greenford, ...
, occupying the former Ravenor Farm buildings in Oldfield Lane South, is the capital's only motorbike museum. Opened in 1999 with a display of around 60 exhibits, it now has around 200 exhibits on display including a wide range of bikes. The Parish Church of Holy Cross (old church), is a late 15th or early 16th century parish church. Betham House, is an 18th-century former charity school built by Edward Betham.


Economy

Significant local businesses include: British Bakeries, IBM, Aurora (TV Lighting), Panavision, Panalux, Wincanton (Distribution Centre) and
Royal Mail , kw, Postya Riel, ga, An Post Ríoga , logo = Royal Mail.svg , logo_size = 250px , type = Public limited company , traded_as = , foundation = , founder = Henry VIII , location = London, England, UK , key_people = * Keith Williams ...
(Regional distribution centre).
KBR KBR can stand for: * KBR (company), formerly Kellogg, Brown & Root, US * KBR (news agency), an Indonesian radio news agency * KBR Park, Hyderabad, India * Kafa language, spoken in Ethiopia * Key-based routing in computer networking * Potassium brom ...
has an office in Greenford. In Greenford Green in front of the train station is the large Westway Cross Shopping Park. This retail park has many stores such as Next,
Smyths Toys Smyths Toys Superstores is an Irish multinational chain provider of children's toys and entertainment products with over 200 shops throughout Ireland, the United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and France. The business is owned by the Sm ...
and Sports Direct.


Political representation

Greenford is part of the
Ealing North Ealing North is a constituency, created in 1950. Since the 2019 general election, it has been represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament by James Murray of the Labour Co-operative party. History Straddling the Western Avenue ...
UK parliamentary
constituency An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger State (polity), state (a country, administrative region, ...
, represented since 2019 by Labour and Co-operative Party Member of Parliament (MP) James Murray. Greenford is made up of three and a half
electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected to t ...
s for local council elections: Greenford Broadway, Greenford Green, North Greenford and half of the Lady Margaret ward, which is situated on the south side of Greenford Broadway. These wards all elect councillors to
Ealing Council Ealing London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Ealing in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in the United Kingdom capital of London. History There have previously been a number of l ...
. Ealing Council is currently run by a
Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...
administration. Political status of Ealing Council after the May 2022 local elections: *
Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...
: 59 seats * Conservatives: 6 seats * Liberal Democrats: 5 seats Greenford is in the
London Assembly The London Assembly is a 25-member elected body, part of the Greater London Authority, that scrutinises the activities of the Mayor of London and has the power, with a two-thirds super-majority, to amend the Mayor's annual budget and to reject ...
constituency of
Ealing and Hillingdon Ealing and Hillingdon is a constituency represented in the London Assembly. It consists of the combined area of the London Borough of Ealing and the London Borough of Hillingdon. Overlapping constituencies The constituency contains all of the fo ...
which has one assembly member:
Onkar Sahota Onkar Sahota is a British Labour Party politician who has been the member of the London Assembly for Ealing and Hillingdon since 2012, when he became the first Labour candidate to be elected in Ealing and Hillingdon. He was re-elected in 2016 ...
(Labour), who was elected in May 2012.


Notable people

* Sculptor C. J. Allen (1862–1956), a figure in the
New Sculpture New Sculpture was a movement in late 19th-century British sculpture with an emphasis on naturalistic poses and spiritual subjects. The movement was characterised by the production of free-standing statues and statuettes of 'ideal' figures from poe ...
movement, was born in Greenford. * Tennis player Blanche Bingley (1863–1946), six times women's singles champion at
Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * ...
, was born in Greenford. * Model Jourdan Dunn was born (1990) and brought up in Greenford. * Pop singer
Elyar Fox Elyar Afshari ( az, Elyar Əfşari; born 15 July 1995), better known by his stage name Elyar (previously Elyar Fox) is an English pop singer, musician and songwriter. His debut single "Do It All Over Again" was released in January 2014, peaking ...
was brought up in Greenford. * Comedian
Freddie Frinton Freddie Frinton (born Frederick Bittiner Coo;According to the NDR, and the General Record Office (Births, Marriages, Deaths) Frinton's birth name was Coo.General Register Office: Register of Births – Mar 1909 7a _7 Grimsby – Frederick Bi ...
(1909–1968), who remains a household name in Germany and Scandinavia, lived in Greenford. * Jack Good, pioneering music TV producer with links to artists including the Beatles and the Monkees, was born in Greenford. * 19th century actor Charles Kean (1811–1868) grew up partly in Greenford. * David Kerr-Clemenson – bass player with Edison Lighthouse, White Plains and Fast Buck – lived in Hedgerley Gardens, Greenford for twenty-two years. * Singing sisters the Nolans attended
The Cardinal Wiseman Catholic School, Greenford The Cardinal Wiseman Catholic School, commonly known as The Cardinal Wiseman School, is a Catholic school comprising a comprehensive secondary school and sixth form located in Greenford, London, England. Its headteacher is Daniel Coyle and its ...
. *
Doug Sandom Douglas Sandom (26 February 193027 February 2019) was an English drummer who was the first drummer for the rock band the Who. Music career During the infancy of the Who's career, while they were playing as the Detours (around mid-1962), Sandom, ...
, musician, (1930-2019) was born in Greenford. Sandom was the original Who drummer. * Lieutenant General Sir William Thornton (1779–1840), a leader of the Light Brigade, lived in Greenford. * Jason Roberts, professional footballer, attended The Cardinal Wiseman Catholic School, Greenford. *
Bukayo Saka Bukayo Ayoyinka T. M. Saka (born 5 September 2001) is an English professional footballer who plays as a right winger for club Arsenal and the England national team. Saka is known for his attacking incisiveness and creativity, and is often cons ...
, professional footballer, was raised in Greenford and attended Greenford High School.


References


External links


The Parish of Greenford MagnaA Visitor's Guide to Holy Cross church, GreenfordLondon Motorcycle Museum
{{Authority control Areas of London Districts of the London Borough of Ealing Places formerly in Middlesex Chemical industry in London District centres of London